the day I found out SANTA CLAUS was not real :(..written on Dec. 23, 2007
I wanna share with you a cherished personal Christmas story. Santa Claus was introduced to us (along with my Manang & Manong) by our parents as somebody who will give gifts to children all over the world who have been good and obedient to their parents all year round. He will make a tour around the world before Christmas to check who have been good and bad so he would know who would be given gifts. That’s why it was important that you pray every night and ask what gifts you wanted to receive from Santa. Since the day Pa and Ma told me about it, I sincerely believed that Santa Claus was real. Consequently, when I was about 6 years old, I used to wish that if I could turn back time - i’d love to be born on Christmas Day 
Yes i did - (not that i didn’t like the date of my birthday), but I wanted Christmas as my date of birth simply because it is the happiest time of the year! The thought came to mind when I started seeing everybody happy and rejoicing on Christmas day - people were all in festive mood, I received a lot of gifts, people were singing in the streets until wee hours of the morning and they were given money for it, I also get to eat all kinds of food and the most exciting reason for me back then was because I get to see Santa Claus hehehe! Anyhow, I was forced to erase that wish in mind when I was already 9 years old and was in Grade 3 when I found out that Santa Claus was not REAL and it was only Papa and Mama who put gifts in all my socks in our Christmas tree. I could still remember that particular morning when Pa and Ma told me that "they were Santa Claus" and they were the ones who bought my Christmas list that was the reason why they would asked me every night what gifts I wanted to receive on Christmas. I really cried hard when I heard it because for me Santa Claus was real. I just could not stand the thought that all those years there was actually no Santa peeping thru my window to check if i was asleep or not so he could place the gifts in my socks. :( It didn’t get into me easily, I cried for days realizing the reality and feeling sad at the same time that there will be no more gifts from my dear Santa Claus in the years to come ;( Such a sad tale indeed. It was only when I grew a bit older that I fully understand the purpose and meaning of Santa Claus even if Pa and Ma explained it to me already that one December morning when I was just 9. Every now and then though, the Santa Claus story still cross my mind and I just can’t help but smile and feel happy that i had that experience which i could somehow share to you and to my children hopefully in the near future.
Yes i did - (not that i didn’t like the date of my birthday), but I wanted Christmas as my date of birth simply because it is the happiest time of the year! The thought came to mind when I started seeing everybody happy and rejoicing on Christmas day - people were all in festive mood, I received a lot of gifts, people were singing in the streets until wee hours of the morning and they were given money for it, I also get to eat all kinds of food and the most exciting reason for me back then was because I get to see Santa Claus hehehe! Anyhow, I was forced to erase that wish in mind when I was already 9 years old and was in Grade 3 when I found out that Santa Claus was not REAL and it was only Papa and Mama who put gifts in all my socks in our Christmas tree. I could still remember that particular morning when Pa and Ma told me that "they were Santa Claus" and they were the ones who bought my Christmas list that was the reason why they would asked me every night what gifts I wanted to receive on Christmas. I really cried hard when I heard it because for me Santa Claus was real. I just could not stand the thought that all those years there was actually no Santa peeping thru my window to check if i was asleep or not so he could place the gifts in my socks. :( It didn’t get into me easily, I cried for days realizing the reality and feeling sad at the same time that there will be no more gifts from my dear Santa Claus in the years to come ;( Such a sad tale indeed. It was only when I grew a bit older that I fully understand the purpose and meaning of Santa Claus even if Pa and Ma explained it to me already that one December morning when I was just 9. Every now and then though, the Santa Claus story still cross my mind and I just can’t help but smile and feel happy that i had that experience which i could somehow share to you and to my children hopefully in the near future. 
